25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentration and Leukocyte Telomere Length in Young Adults: Findings From the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Higher vitamin D status, lower adiposity, and longer telomere length are each reportedly associated with lower risk of several chronic diseases and all-cause mortality. However, direct relationships between vitamin D status (measured by circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration), adiposity, and telomere length are not well established. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of associations of 25(OH)D and body mass index (BMI; weight (kg)/height (m)2) with mean relative leukocyte telomere length (LTL) using data gathered on 5,096 participants from Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 at age 31 years (1997). 25(OH)D was not associated with LTL in either basic or confounder/mediator-adjusted models. BMI was inversely associated with LTL after adjustment for potential confounding by age, sex, socioeconomic position, physical activity, diet, smoking, alcohol intake, and use of oral contraceptives (per 1-unit increase in BMI, mean difference in LTL = −0.4%, 95% confidence interval: −0.6, −0.2). The BMI-LTL association was also independent of 25(OH)D and was attenuated slightly, but remained, after adjustment for C-reactive protein, a marker of low-grade inflammation (mean difference in LTL = −0.3%, 95% confidence interval −0.6, −0.1). These findings suggest that vitamin D status is unlikely to be an important determinant of LTL, at least by young adulthood. Inflammation may partly mediate associations of adiposity with LTL.
Date Issued
2016-01-20
Date Acceptance
2015-07-28
Citation
American Journal of Epidemiology, 2016, 183 (3), pp.191-198
ISSN
1476-6256
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Start Page
191
End Page
198
Journal / Book Title
American Journal of Epidemiology
Volume
183
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© The Author 2016. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Sponsor
Wellcome Trust
Grant Number
088431/Z/09/Z
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
biological aging
Northern Finland Birth Cohorts
telomere length
vitamin D
VITAMIN-D STATUS
BODY-MASS INDEX
MENDELIAN RANDOMIZATION
CARDIOVASCULAR-DISEASE
D DEFICIENCY
ASSOCIATION
RISK
METAANALYSIS
WOMEN
MORTALITY
Adiposity
Adult
Body Mass Index
C-Reactive Protein
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Finland
Humans
Leukocytes
Male
Prospective Studies
Telomere Homeostasis
Vitamin D
Epidemiology
11 Medical And Health Sciences
01 Mathematical Sciences
Publication Status
Published